The Mosquito was W4050, and, if I may be allowed to quote myself,
On 20 April Lord Beaverbrook brought Mr Wynant, the US Ambassador, and General Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, head of the United States Army Air Corps, together with other high-ranking officers, to see W4050 perform. The show consisted of upward rolls from ground level with one propeller feathered; a circle within the airfield, causing audible vortices at the wing-tips in the tight turns; and flying level at over 400 mph. The display was all the more spectacular for it followed a somewhat sedentary flypast of American lend-lease aircraft all of which appeared pedestrian by comparasion! Six days later General Arnold set off for America with a full set of manufacturer’s drawings in his luggage. As a result of a report submitted by General Arnold, five American aviation companies – Beech, Curtiss-Wright, Fairchild, Fleetwings and Hughes – were asked to evaluate the data brought over from De Havilland. The report issued by Beech Aircraft summed up their views:
*’It appears as though this airplane has sacrificed serviceability, structural strength, ease of construction and flying characteristics in an attempt to use construction material which is not suitable for the manufacture of efficient airplanes.’
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